History Today

Wahgi Meets West

Richard Monte looks at the integration of Western ideas into native cultures.

Interfacing Samuel Hartlib

Britain's first information scientist? Mark Greengrass tells the story of a remarkable 17th- century polymath and of the modern enterprise to re-categorise and evaluate, with the aid of the modern computer, his archive of knowledge.

The Maritime Trust

Richard Cavendish discovers that old ships do not just die or fade away, thanks to the Maritime Trust.

Amsterdam and William III

Without the economic muscle of the Netherlands' largest city, William III would never have been able to stage Britain's 'Glorious Revolution' or urge European war against Louis XIV. But his relationship with Amsterdam's burghers was far from smooth, as Elizabeth Edwards outlines here.

Dickens and the Construction of Christmas

The best-loved of Britain's novelists penned a tale that struck a potent chord in the popular revival of the season of goodwill. Geoffrey Rowell explains its appeal and its powerful religious and social overtones.